JOURNEY FROM St. PETERSBURG TO TZARITZIN. 87

might even ferve to determine the former height of the Sea.—Towards the South, under the upper ridge of the fandy heights,there lies a narrow border of indurated and, as it were, candiedwhite fand, which is partly difpofed in ftrata, partly in conglobateand cylindrical maffes of different fizes, which, not unlike calca-reous oßeocolla, exhibit traces of iron-coloured roots that pervadetheir axis. This border is only about an eil broad, and in manyplaces narrower, as it extends into the contiguous mountain,which confifts merely of a light drift-fand. The neareft part ofthis fofftl border, when meafured by the furface, is five hundredand fifty fathoms diftant from the Sarpa, and I found its perpen-dicular elevation over the whole flat fteppe, on the banks of thatriver and the Volga, when compared with their currents, to bethirty-nine fathoms and an arfhine; an elevation which theadjacent country and its hüls exceed by feveral fathoms.

" As a fecond argument for my conjeclure, I fhall mention,that the vitriolated layers of mire ftill exhibit traces of fea-weeds and marfhes: they extend along the banks of the middleElßanka, twelve verfts from Sarepta, particularly where thehigh country approaches the Volga and forms a deep valley.Thefe beds of mire were examined by Profeffor Gmelin, whocaufed two perpendicular deep fhafts to be funk in them, tili theminers arrived at a ftratum of clayey fand, which forms theirbafis. Every naturalift, though unacquainted with the ftrikingcircumftances before mentioned, would doubtlefs pronouncethefe narrow layers of vitriolated earth to be the remainsof a fea-morafs, formerly overgrown with fedge."—Vol. iii.

PP- 569—577-

We